3 On Your Side: TV Sales Spike Before The Big Game

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — You see them everywhere, ads for sales on TVs just in time for Sunday’s big game. But is now really the best time to buy a new television? 3 On Your Side Consumer Reporter Jim Donovan has information on what shoppers need to know.

From big screens to little screens, plasmas to 3Ds, more than 7.5 million households are expected to buy a new TV before the big game.

“I’m here for a rocking deal,” says shopper Dan Engebretson.

While shopper Kelly Langley says, “I think you can get a good deal at this time.”

According to Michael Krawczyk of Best Buy, “outside of Christmas, this is the largest television buying week of the year.”

The Super Bowl is obviously one big reason for the uptick in big screen TV purchases, but for some shoppers, there’s another reason that’s more practical. Matthew Ong, a retail analyst for NerdWallet.com says, “You’re actually going to find pretty good prices for those big HDTVs, which is a little counter-intuitive because demand is up, but there are a couple of other factors driving that as well.”

Those factors include a combination of typically lean January sales and stores clearing shelves for new models. Dave Katzmaier of CNET says, “These 2012 models are still on the shelves, you’re not going to see any of the 2013 models until later in the year, February/March time frame, so this is the time when they have to get rid of the 2012 models.”

Shopper Geneva Rios spotted some savings. She says, “Pretty good savings, like maybe a hundred.”

But you may want to price check online first. According to Joe Feldman of Telsey Advisor Group, “Most of the time, if you go into your local stores, they’ll price match whatever is on the web these days so you can get a good deal.”

Even though shopper Dan Engebretson didn’t price check online, he still walked out with a new big screen TV at $300 in savings with plenty of time for the big game.

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Jim Donovan is anchor of CBS 3’s Eyewitness News This Morning and Eyewitness News at Noon.
The 15-time Emmy Award-winner joined CBS 3 as its “On Your Side” consumer reporter in 2004. In April, 2016, he stepped up to the anchor desk to rela...